Revealed
by potterfan36041
Summary: It's hard enough being the child of a ranger, but what happens when you fall in love with a another ranger child? Saving the World Again, series spinoff
1. Finding Their History

"Daddy!" Angie yelled as she ran into the kitchen. It seemed that all of her dad's friends were congregating in the living room, talking about the camping trip that all of them were to go on. This was a sort of tradition of sorts for all of them and had been since Angie could remember. They had only missed a couple and that was when Charlie had been really little.

"What little bit?" Tommy asked as Angie glared up at him, she was now thirteen and it kinda got on her nerves that her dad still called her little bit. She didn't think that it was fair that Jase had gotten her father's height and she was stuck at five foot nothing, but she saw no use in arguing the term of endearment.

"Why haven't we left yet?" Angie asked as Tommy smiled at her impatience. It was easy for her to be ready to go, but it was a little bit harder for Kim to be able to Charlie ready to go, she was always a little less free spirited that Angie, which was something he was definitely happy about.

"Your mama is having to help your sister get her stuff together," Tommy said as Kim walked down the stairs and just shook her head. Charlie was still refusing to go with all of them. Kim had given up, so she hoped that Charlie, being a Daddy's girl, would give in to Tommy's pleading or that she would not scream too loudly when Tommy just packed her stuff and told her to get in the car. "Why don't you ask Jason if we need anything?"

"All right," Angie said as she walked from the kitchen to the living room and Tommy smiled over at Kim.

"She getting antsy?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes.

"Does that remind you of someone?" Tommy asked as Kim looked at the floor and nodded. "Go hang out with the others, I'll have her down here in a few minutes."

"Okay," Kim said as Tommy gave her a quick squeeze and then walked out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs.

"Uncle Jason, is there anything that we need?" Angie asked as Alex walked up to next to her and she looked over at him. He was basically like another brother to her and she was used to him.

"Yeah, go get some blankets out of the basement," Jason said as several of the others looked over at him, thinking that he had lost his mind. Did he want for their children to walk into their ranger life?

"There is not a basement in this house, you know that," Angie said as Jason stood up and walked her into the kitchen and pulled on a particular knife. Kim and Tommy had decided that the dinosaur jaw just clashed in the kitchen, so they had replaced it with the knife stand, just in case something ever popped up again. Angie stared, in shock, as part of the floor popped up and Angie looked over at Jason. She had the feeling that this was something that she did not need to see.

"Some blankets, please," Jason said as Angie looked over at Alex and he nodded that he would go with her. He honestly didn't like the look of it either, but if he didn't go, Angie sure as hell wouldn't.

"Okay," Angie said as Alex tugged her down the stairs behind him and Jason smirked over at some of the others that had wondered into the kitchen. If Kim or Tommy had been in there, they would have stopped it, but Jason wanted them to know. He was tired of lying to his own children.

"They're going to kill you," Adam said as Jason just shrugged his shoulders. Alex was ready to know about it and he was sure that Angie could take it as well.

"Are there even any blankets down here?" Angie asked as she began searching around. She could make out an old couch and some boxes that were just piled into the center of the room.

"There have to be some," Alex said as he began looking in a different part of the basement and the lights flickered on, hesitantly, before they came on with full strength. Angie immediately dropped the books that she had picked up and stared around the room. She was sure that her parents didn't know that this was here. They couldn't, they would have told them about this. "Are you okay?"

"No," Angie said as she sat down on the couch and Alex walked over and sat down next to her. "How can this be in my home? I don't understand."

"I think my dad is trying to tell us something. I think he wants us to ask questions," Alex said as Angie looked around the room and just shook her head. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, but she could tell that it would only take a moment to flick everything on, although she didn't know what the everything was.

"What kind of questions?" Angie asked as her father stormed into the room and snatched her up off the couch. "Daddy?"

"How did you get down here?" Tommy asked as Kim had ran after him and had quickly placed a hand on his shoulder. She was afraid of what Tommy might do; he was furious right now.

"Uncle Jason told me to come get some blankets, I didn't know this was down here," Angie said with wide eyes as Tommy let go of her wrist and looked over at Kim. How were they going to explain all of this to her? She didn't have the slightest clue that they were rangers. She didn't even really know what a ranger was. They had kept those television shows off the air as much as possible.

"You were never supposed to see this," Tommy muttered as Kim sighed and then pulled Tommy away from Angie and Alex.

"It's not their fault Tommy, they were tricked. I think it's time we tell Angie and maybe even Jase, Charlie's too young to take it," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. He had not wanted to let his children know anything about their former life. They were not supposed to have a hard life, they were supposed to have it easy.

"Kim…" Tommy said as Kim just shook her head.

"Tommy, we don't have much of a choice now," Kim said as Tommy looked over at Alex and Angie and then up the stairs, where Jason waved at him and Tommy fought the urge to flick him off.

"Jason, is it alright if we answer the questions that you put in your child's head?" Tommy asked as Jason nodded his head and Tommy shook his head. "Can you keep the younger ones out of here?"

"Yeah," Jason said, as he had to agree that he didn't want his youngest child to have to deal with it. Alex was ready and if he and Angie knew about it, then they would have a little bit of an outlet. There were so many things that they had to hide and he just couldn't do it anymore.

"So, you were rangers," Alex said, simply, as Tommy stared at him. He had thought this was going to take a very long time to discuss, but Alex had seemed to figure some of it out awhile ago.

"How can you say that? This could have been here before my parents moved in here," Angie said as Tommy looked away from her and Angie's mouth fell open. "When did this get here?"

"We built it," Kim said as Angie's eyes widened and Kim put her arm around her. "We had a lot of help, basically everyone up there helped."

"Hold on, you were rangers?" Angie asked as Kim nodded her head yes and Tommy walked over to the control panel and reluctantly pressed in one button. He had never wanted to turn on this module again, but he knew that he might as well show her the unabridged history of the rangers. It was a lot better to see than to hear about. "How long ago?"

"We finished Lord Zedd and Rita off right after you were born," Kim said, looking at the floor, as her thirteen year old daughter gawked at her and Alex was not much better.

"You fought?" Angie asked as Kim nodded her head yes. It was not like she had had much of a choice in the matter. If she had not fought, then they wouldn't have been able to defeat them. Tommy had had to have the right inspiration to do what he had done that day.

"That's why they'll never tell me," Alex said, as Tommy and Kim looked over at him, slightly confused.

"Never tell you what?" Tommy asked as the video had loaded, but he had a feeling that Alex had something extremely important to say.

"You always talk about when you found out Kim was pregnant. Mom and Dad never talk about it. They were on that mission, weren't they?" Alex asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and Angie nearly fainted, but Tommy caught her before she smacked the ground.

"You take after your mother way too much," Tommy said as Angie's eyes fluttered open and she shook her head. She had never thought of the fact that the boy standing next to here was lucky to be alive, now she knew that was true.

"I can't believe it," Angie said as Kim and Tommy looked at the two of them. They were the oldest ranger children and by birthright, they needed to know this first. They didn't know if they could take it, but they could trust that they would keep it a secret from the other ranger children.

"I know, just watch the video, it'll make it better," Kim said as Angie and Alex sat down on the couch, careful to not touch each other, as they began watching the video that had been played more times than they had ever imagined it would be played.

"What do you think?" Tommy whispered in Kim's ear as he flicked his eyes towards Angie and Alex. They two of them had always been there for each other and he knew that these next few years would determine if they were more than just friends.

"Anything can happen. You, of all people, should know that," Kim said with a smile as they watched the two teens as they gawked at the video. It had just gotten to the part about Dino Thunder and everything that had happened while they were Dino rangers. There was no leaving out that they had just had a baby, considering the pieces that Alpha had placed in the history.

"Oh my lord," Angie muttered, the first to regain her ability to speak. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"And have you going to kindergarten and telling everyone you meet that your parents are Power Rangers, no way," Tommy said as Angie smiled over at her father. He was being a lot more understanding than she had first imagined he would be. "Ang, we knew this day would come. We just thought it would be when we were a lot older and maybe had grandchildren."

"I'm sure you'd tell them before you told us," Angie said as Tommy nodded his head that he would have preferred that.

"You have every right to know about it. You were born while we were still rangers, you have some ranger powers in you, somewhere," Kim said with a smile as Tommy nodded his head that he was sure of that as well. "You probably do too Alex, but maybe not as strong."

"So all of your friends, they were rangers?" Angie asked as Tommy nodded his head.

"Except for Hayley and Ally, they all were," Tommy said as Angie walked back over to the couch and sat down. She was just a little bit shocked about it all. "Do you still want to go camping after hearing all of this?"

"Yes," Angie said as Tommy held back a smile.

"Just checking, come on we have to get going or we won't get there before nightfall," Tommy said as Angie nodded and her and Alex followed them out of the command center. "Not a word of this to the others."

"Yes sir," Angie said with a smile as Alex gulped. He knew that the only person he could talk to was Angie and she was the one person he was kinda scared to face at the moment.

"Daddy, why can't I go in?" Anna whined as Billy looked over at Jason with a 'see this is what you caused' expression on his face. Jason honestly didn't care if all the kids wanted to go down there, he was tired of hiding this from his own children. He was tired of half answering their questions and he was sure that Tommy had the same hard feelings he did. Angie had been born while they were rangers. It must be hard to only tell her half the truth.

"Hey," Tommy said as they walked back into the living room and Angie stopped with her parents as Alex continued over to his. "Let's get going. We've burned enough daylight already."

"How are we riding?" Jason asked as they hadn't worked out who was riding with whom.

"Let the kids work it out," Tommy said as Jason looked up at him, in complete shock. Tommy was asking for chaos to ensue. Although by the glint in his eye, this had more to do with them having to tell Angie than the actual seating arrangements.

"Well, I'm riding with you," Kim said, before half the other little girls could claim a seat in their car.

"No fair," Tommy said as he followed Kim outside, carrying a couple of bags.

"It is fair, considering what you're now going to have to deal with," Kim said as Tommy placed both of his arms around her in a tight embrace and she smiled up at him.

"Let's get going," Tommy said as Angie and Alex were now standing next to each other on the front steps, watching the others run to various vehicles.

"Your parents or mine?" Alex asked, simply, as Angie looked over at him. They were about the same height, but she had gone through a growth spurt a few months ago, Alex still had a couple of growth spurts to go through.

"I don't care," Angie said as they started towards the cars and noticed that Jason and Trini had no one riding with them. "I guess yours."

"Yeah," Alex said as the two of them crawled into the back seat and Jason looked over at Trini and smiled. They two of them had always been good friends, but they all hoped for more, especially considering the fact that they had always acted a little bit different than the rest of their children.

"Spill it all," Angie said as Jason looked back at her and saw that she was dead serious. "We're the only two that know and unless you start talking, it might slip out. How did my parents really get back together?""You noticed that wasn't in there," Jason said as Angie nodded her head yes. She knew that the story of her parents' reunion had to be more interesting than the lame story that they told them. She didn't believe for a second that they bumped into each other on the street and decided that they couldn't live without each other.

"We forced them to talk to each other, when we went to defeat…I forgot her name, there were way too many of them to really be able to think clearly about who you were defeating. We just treated every monster the same," Jason said as Angie smiled.

"I think it's funny that you actually got them to talk, no one else did," Angie said as Jason and Trini laughed. They wished that they could show them what actually happening, but they didn't see that as a reality.

"Let's just say that being forced to be in a combat environment makes you change your approaches. None of us were risking out own death because your parents refused to talk to each other," Jason said as Angie gave him a confused look. "This was one of the most dangerous missions that we ever went on, we all needed to be on the same team."

"You know that they're going to want to know," Trini said as Jason nodded his head. The other kids would just have to wait. Angie and Alex seemed to be taking it all right, but Alex had basically figured it out years ago. Both Jason and Trini knew that.

"They're not ready," Angie said as Trini smiled back at her. She was definitely trying to protect her siblings and they all knew that had been instilled in Angie by Kim and Tommy. They wanted to make sure that their youngest children would always having some one looking after them, especially if something happened to them.

"When did you find out you were pregnant with me?" Alex asked as Trini's eyes nearly popped out of her head and Angie laughed.

"Right before we went on our last mission," Trini said as she looked over at Jason, who was staring at the road. They still didn't like talking about what had happened during that mission. Alex had no idea how close he came to not being here. "Your mom actually made me take a test."

"I'm not surprised. They had just had me, she remembered the symptoms too well," Angie said as Trini nodded. If Kim hadn't noticed it, then she wouldn't have found out and she would have ignored the signs that let her get out in time.

"Yeah, she did," Trini said as Alex just shook his head.

"Why even fight?" Alex asked, as he was trying to grasp the concept because it made no sense to him.

"I would have had to tell your dad a few hours before he went on a mission that I was pregnant. I didn't think that was a very smart thing to do," Trini said as Alex barely nodded and Angie gave him a concerned look. She knew that he was confused and that they weren't really helping him right now.

"But you thought it was smart to just go out there and fight anyway?" Alex asked as Trini shook her head no. "Then why did you?"

"If I hadn't gone, it would have raised more questions. I left before the fighting got too bad," Trini said as Alex just shook his head.

"You still passed out," Jason muttered as Angie and Alex exchanged a glance in the back seat. They had not wanted to hear anything like this. They had known that being a ranger must have been rough on their parents, but they had never imagined this sort of risk being involved.

"But why were you brought back then? Weren't most rangers only teenagers?" Angie asked as Trini and Jason looked at each other before Trini turned around to face them.

"Yes, most rangers were, but we had a job. We had to end all evil and it was more of a symbolic gesture than anything else. The first rangers were the last rangers. We defeated the one evil that had eluded us and by doing so, ended all threats to earth. The Power Rangers are no more. That's why we fought, to give you a chance to not become us," Jason said as silence reigned in the car. His point had definitely hit home with the two teenagers.

Neither knew then that this day was going to make them what they became years later. They had always been good friends, but on that day their friendship was solidified and something else was started. Like all things that the rangers were involved in, it was complex and confusing, but for the ultimate good. No ranger would have ever expected that the originals would do something like this, they had always thought that the secret would be kept from their own flesh and blood, but they couldn't bring themselves to do that.

They all knew that their children had seen them walk through the house in the middle of the night, because of some noise. Or seen them turn around too fast when they heard a pop behind them. People saw them as protective parents, but their children had begun to see them as something else. Now two of them knew and they were able to take it, maybe one day the world would be able to take it as well, but they did not pin their hopes on that. They knew that they were still some of the most sought after people in the world and they did not wish to be famous. They wished for the simple life that they had been able to acquire with each other, in the peace that only a ranger could understand.


	2. A New Relationship

AN: I've decided that this is going to be a series of one-shot that chronicles Angie and Alex's growing relationship, as you can see it started with them finding out about the rangers. Each chapter will progress to different high points in their relationship. I hope you enjoy.

"Hi-yah!" Jase yelled as he plowed down his sister, who landed with a thump on the mat. "Come on Ang… you're better than this."

"I have a lot on my mind," Angie said as she pushed herself up and walked over to the side of the mat and wiped off her face. In the last five years she had become just as stealthy of a fighter as her parents. She, however, did not feel up to dealing with her brother today.

"Like what?" Jase asked as he sat down next to her and she looked across the gym, where her eyes landed on Alex and she smiled. "Oh, him."

"It's not like that Jase," Angie said as Jase laughed outright and then walked over to spar with Angie's 'friend' as their parents so delicately labeled him. "I'm going to kill him."

"He's your brother, Angie," Tommy said as he sat down next to his oldest child and smiled. They all had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before Alex and Angie started showing a lot more interest in each other. There, however, was the tiny problem that he was a junior in high school and Angie was a senior. Alex had been forced to start school a year later because of his birthday. They all knew how those types of relationships went over in high school, but none of them saw it lasting much longer.

"Yeah and he's always doing things like that," Angie said as she motioned towards the two boys, who were now sparring with each other. The smiles and laughs that she could hear was enough for her to know that they were joking around, but it still sank in that she never did that with Alex. They always seemed to be just a hint too serious around each other.

"Why don't you go?" Tommy suggested as Angie just shook her head. She had always refused to spar with Alex. She knew that she was a good fighter, but she never wanted to deal with the boy that had been trained by both Jason and her father. She knew just how good he was.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Angie said as she leaned back against the wall and watched as Jase managed to land a kick to Alex's gut, which caused her to wince.

"All right, then you're sparring with me," Tommy said as Angie nodded and then her eyes widened as she realized what she had agreed to.

"That's not fair, Dad," Angie said as Tommy smiled as they walked out onto the mats. He rarely sparred with his children; he actually spent most of his time sparring with Alex. He had a tournament in a couple of weeks and Jason had been letting him come up here every weekend. They all knew that Alex was more than happy to do it and it had finally sunken in that nothing was going to stop the inevitable change between Angie and Alex. They just all had to question when one of them was going to be brave enough to talk to the other.

"It's plenty fair, Ang," Tommy said as he noticed the glance that Alex shot towards them before he went back to fighting Jase. He knew what Tommy was capable of when he really got on a roll and he knew that Angie was not used to her father's pace. "Come on."

"Just don't make him too mad Tommy," Kim muttered as she saw the scene unfolding before her. Tommy was being relentless and Angie was actually matching him for the most part. She just didn't have some of her footwork honed in the way that the other two did. They generally dealt with Tommy a lot more often, for some reason.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked as she walked over and Kim smiled over at her youngest daughter.

"Your dad and Angie," Kim said as Charlie just shook her head and then jumped up on the beam. She had done karate, just like the rest of her family, but she had also kept with gymnastics, unlike her sister. She loved the beam, which worried both Kim and Tommy, but they kept their mouths shut. She didn't need to know about all the accidents Kim had had on the apparatus.

"Ow," Angie muttered as she landed on her backside and Tommy smiled as he pulled her back up.

"You did pretty good little bit," Tommy said as Angie just shook her head as Tommy put his arm around her.

"Hey Angie," Alex called as Angie looked back over her shoulder and saw him walking towards them. "You wanna go? Just once."

"I…" Angie started as she looked between her father and Jase. Neither one of them was going to help her get out of this.

"She'd love it," Tommy said as he gave her a gentle push and Jase followed him away.

"They're so dead," Angie muttered as Alex smiled at her.

"She's going to kill you," Kim muttered as Jase and Tommy smiled down at her. "You think I'm joking, don't you? She's not ready to do that. She doesn't want to hurt him."

"Yeah, just like you didn't want to hurt me back in high school," Tommy said as Kim glared up at him.

"That was different, we had a reason to want to kill each other, considering…" Kim trailed off as she watched Angie and Alex. It seemed that the both of them had gotten over the idea that they should be gentle, as Angie had to duck a kick that was headed towards her head. It didn't help that Alex was used to fighting people his own height and forgot that Angie was about a foot shorter than him.

"Ow," Angie said as Alex kicked her in the stomach and she doubled over, almost instantly.

"Sorry," Alex said as he took a step towards her, before he took a step back. She didn't seem to want to be touched.

"It's all right, just been awhile since I've had a gut check," Angie said as she straightened up and gave Alex a weak smile. It hurt a lot more than she was letting on.

"Can I make it up to you?" Alex asked as he put his arm around Angie and she looked up at him. She had no clue what he might want to do, but she was sure that she would appreciate whatever it was.

"I guess," Angie said as she looked over at her parents, who were both engrossed in their own conversation.

"If you don't want me to, that's fine," Alex said, in a slightly depressed tone as he drank a swallow of water and Angie sat down on the bench. She didn't want any water, much less anything else.

"I do, I'm just tired," Angie said as she had just finished taking her last exam of her high school career this morning and then had a two hour graduation practice.

"Then you'll really enjoy this," Alex said with a smile as he picked up his gym bag and headed for the locker room.

"Okay," Angie said as she just closed her eyes. She was perfectly fine going somewhere in the clothes that she was wearing. She had never been much for wearing the normal karate attire and thus had on a pair of grey pants and a fuchsia racerback top.

"You look beat," Jase said as Angie merely nodded her head. Their father had not given them an easy exam this morning and even though she lived in his house, she was sure that she had gotten a couple of questions completely wrong. "So, where are you going?"

"I don't know, wherever Alex has planned," Angie said as Jase smiled and handed Angie a bottle of sprite.

"Drink up," Jase said as Angie gave him a skeptical look. "It'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," Angie said as Alex walked back out, but instead of walking towards them, he walked over to Kim and Tommy. "Oh lord…"

"He doesn't want for Dad to kill him," Jase pointed out as Angie managed to nod. It was funny that most of her boyfriends had been scared to death of her father, but Alex was just a friend taking her somewhere and he still wanted to make sure it was all right.

"He's just a friend, Jase," Angie pushed as Jase smiled and shook his head. They all knew how the two of them felt about each other.

"You just won't date him because he's a grade behind you and we all know that," Jase said as Angie looked away from her brother. She hated when he was right about something like this. "Angie, he's known you since he was born. Don't screw this up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Angie said as Alex walked over and sat down on her other side.

"You ready to go?" Alex asked as Angie nodded her head yes and they then walked out of the dojo.

"She's going to kill you," Charlie said as she vaulted off the beam and Kim and Tommy both let out a laugh. Angie was going to be just fine with all of this; she didn't really have a choice about it.

"She'll live," Kim said with a smile as Jase ran over and gave Charlie a hug.

"What has gotten into you?" Charlie asked as Jase smiled down at her.

"Angie is finally going to do what she should have done a couple of years ago," Jase said, confidently, as Kim and Tommy nodded. It was about time that the two of them went out on at least a date.

-------------

"Where are we going?" Angie asked as Alex headed towards the interstate and she gave him a confused look. She was thinking that he would just take her somewhere like the park or a semi-decent restaurant.

"It's a place you've always wanted to see. I finally got my dad to take me there a couple of months ago," Alex said as Angie gave him a curious look. She didn't know where that might be, but he seemed sure that she would enjoy it.

"Is this why you had to talk to my parents?" Angie asked as Alex nodded his head as she let out a long yawn.

"Why don't you take a nap? It's a pretty long drive," Alex said as Angie shook her head that she would be fine. "All right."

"You did good today," Angie said as Alex looked over at her. They usually didn't talk much about anything of substance, so it surprised him that she'd talk about his karate skills. "Who are you competing against?"

"Some guy from Stone Canyon. I really don't know much about him other than that," Alex said as Angie nodded. She had been in quite a few competitions of her own and she knew just how much the build up before hand could stress a person out. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just trying to figure out if I'll be able to make it," Angie said as Alex nodded. They had always come to each other's competitions, at first because their parents made them, but now because they wanted to. Jase and Charlie only came if they knew both of the people, but Angie was still a pretty dependable face in the crowd.

"I just have a couple more weeks before it. After that, I think my dad is going to make me stay in Angel Grove. He needs some help around the dojo," Alex said as Angie nodded, but looked away. She didn't want to make him think that she was going to miss him, but she was. She had gotten used to spending most of her weekends with him and now he was going to be stuck in Angel Grove all summer.

"I'll make it," Angie said as Alex nodded. He could hear the sadness in her voice, but he was not sure what he had said to upset her. "I leave at the end of August to go to UCLA."

"Whoa," Jase said as it hit him that she wouldn't be making many more competitions, not for the next year at the very least. "I guess this is the last summer that we won't be pulled in different directions."

"Yeah," Angie said as she leaned across the middle seat and placed her head on his shoulder. "What are you going to do for college?"

"I don't know," Alex said as Angie nodded. She knew that he had never been one to really plan things out. He just let it come to him. "I'm not sure if UCLA or some place like that would accept me."

"You have better grades than I do," Angie said as Alex smiled down at her and she smiled back. "You can get in anywhere you want to go."

"Yeah, but I just don't know if it's for me. It's something that they've always dreamed for me," Alex said as Angie nodded.

"What do your parents say about that?" Angie asked as Alex looked away from her. "That bad?"

"Dad's all right with it, Mama doesn't understand it at all," Alex said as Angie nodded. She knew her parents would have a fit if she said she didn't want to go to college. "I'm honestly thinking about the military though."

"Which branch?" Angie asked, just a tad bit worried for him.

"Air Force," Alex answered as Angie nodded. She could see him doing that, but she knew that it had to be tough on Trini to hear that her first child wanted to go into the military.

"You could be anywhere," Angie said as Alex nodded that he realized that. "I don't want you to go away, but if it's what you want to do, I can't tell you not to."

"I wish you would," Alex said as Angie gave him a startled look. "It would give me a good reason to stay."

"I'm not a good reason, Alex," Angie said as Alex gave her a skeptical look. She was not fooling him, in the least bit. "You have to do whatever you want for you. You won't be happy if you don't."

"What I want is something I don't think I can get," Alex said as Angie gave him a curious look.

"What do you want?" Angie asked as Alex stared out at the road, determined that he would not say the wrong thing. "Come on, I've known you since you were born, what do you want?"

"I don't think she wants it and I don't want to put myself through that," Alex said as Angie unbuckled herself and moved herself into the middle and then buckled herself back in, so that she could prop herself up against him.

"You're just hurting yourself," Angie said as Alex nodded. "Who is the lucky girl?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Alex said as Angie began thinking. Yes, she had secretly liked him for years, but she was sure that she could handle it if he said it was someone else.

"Sydney?" Angie guessed as Alex shook his head no.

"Mitchell is dating her now. He finally got up the nerve to ask her," Alex said as Angie nodded. She didn't want to guess about any of the girls that she saw practically drooling over him at the tournaments he was in. She was not sure she would be able to keep herself composed if she did that. "You do know her, pretty well."

"Alex, all the other girls I know are at least three years younger than us," Angie said as Alex gave her a look which she could only interpret to mean that he did not believe one world that she was saying. "You're just going to have to tell me."

"Ang…who was the guy that came to your last tournament?" Alex asked as Angie thought back.

"Chris?" Angie asked as Alex nodded that the name sounded familiar. "He's one of my friends from school. I tried to like him for awhile, but I couldn't. I'm just too afraid to admit who I love."

"You don't like, you love?" Alex asked as Angie sadly nodded her head. "Who? Jake?"

"No, he's too young," Angie said as Alex nodded, although he was sure that if Angie liked someone there would be no stopping her until she got him. "Where are we?"

"Oh, come on," Alex said as he put his car in park and Angie hopped out and immediately wished that she had brought a jacket. It was rather chilly here. "It's just over here."

"We're going in a cave?" Angie asked as Alex just shook his head. It was much more than a cave, but he had to convince Angie to go inside.

"Come on, I promise you've wanted to see this," Alex said as he reached back for her hand and she reluctantly took his and allowed him to guide her inside. She had to admit that she was shocked when the lights flashed on and she saw that they were surrounded by many of the same devices that resided in her basement.

"Oh my goodness," Angie said as she looked over at Alex. He was definitely enjoying watching her discover this place. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Alex said as Angie gave him a hug and then a kiss on the cheek, which caused her to quickly look down. Alex then tilted her chin up and gave her a gentle smile before giving her their first kiss.

"Alex…" Angie trailed off as he took a step back from her, looking rather guilty. "What's wrong?"

"You don't like me, do you?" Alex asked, although he had felt the charge in the kiss, he did not think that she had felt it too.

"I never thought you'd do anything, so I didn't say anything about it," Angie said as Alex watched her look down at the floor and he reached over and pulled her into a hug.

"That's why you still come?" Alex asked as Angie merely nodded her head. "Well, it's nice to know that we both have the same motives."

"Don't tell me that," Angie said as Alex laughed and the spun her around which caused her to laugh as well. Their families were definitely going to be thankful for this day. It made things so much easier on all of them, to have the first two children actually be happy with each other.


	3. Dreaded Happenings

"When is she getting home?" Tommy asked as Kim shrugged her shoulders. Angie had called them a couple of hours ago to say that she was just outside of Angel Grove. She was spending the summer with them before she had to go back to school and they were sure that they weren't going to see a lot of her. She hadn't seen Alex in the past three months and they all knew it was driving her up the walls.

"She may have stopped by our house to see if anyone was home," Trini said as Alex nodded. The phone call he had gotten from Angie yesterday had been more than enough to let him know she was intent on seeing him as soon as she could. His graduation was the following night and Angie had left school a couple of days early so that she could make it.

"Maybe I should have told her I wouldn't be home," Alex said as Tommy just shook his head. They had all wanted to do something for Alex, but none of them could think of anything, considering the fact that his girlfriend was over three hundred miles away and studying for exams.

"Hey Mama!" Angie called as she walked in the front door and dropped her book bag and tote. She had decided that everything else could stay in the car. It would take too much out of her to bring it in.

"Hey, sweetie," Kim said as she walked out of the living room and Angie gave her a hug. "How do you think you did?"

"I passed, but I can't say much more than that," Angie said as Kim nodded. "What's for supper?"

"Pizza, I had a rough day at school," Kim said as Angie laughed. This year's class had been called the hellions since day one. There was not much more that needed to be said about them. "Come on, we're all in the living room."

"Okay," Angie said as she followed her mother into the living room. She was fully intent on eating and then going upstairs and crashing, until she saw who else was there. "Alex!"

"Hey, Ang," Alex laughed as she wrapped her arms around him and he easily lifted her off the floor. "How was the drive?"

"What are you doing here? I thought you had something to do with your friends," Angie said as she searched his face and saw that he had lied to her. "Alex."

"Hey, they made me promise I wouldn't say anything. What other choice did I have?" Alex said as Angie looked over at their parents and saw the smug expressions that they all seemed to hold.

"But your class…" Angie said as Alex just shook his head. He had been with his class most of the day; the last three months had driven him crazy as well. He knew that his friends would just deal with his absence.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry," Jase said as he nodded towards the pizza.

"I never said you couldn't eat," Angie said as Mitchell and Jase almost dove for the pizza.

"Make sure you leave some for us," Charlie said as the two were already grabbing much more than their fair share.

"Only two pieces at first," Tommy said as Mitchell and Jase let out sighs and then returned the extra pieces.

"Are any of the others coming by?" Angie asked as she walked over and got a couple of pieces for herself.

"Tomorrow, before we head back to Angel Grove," Jason said as Angie nodded. She was not looking forward to this graduation. Alex had decided he was going into the Air Force and he would be leaving in the middle of July. That gave her six weeks with him and that was not nearly long enough.

"You want to go see a movie?" Alex asked as Angie shook her head no. All of the others knew that she was thinking about how short the rest of their summer would be and they knew that they probably wouldn't see any movies if she had it her way.

"I really need to crash tonight. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately," Angie said as Alex nodded as she looked out towards the porch and then picked up her plate and the both of them went outside.

"I'm not gone yet, Ang," Alex said as she looked down at her plate and he reached for her hand. "I'll be here if you want me to be."

"I don't know if I can do this," Angie said as Alex nodded. Their first year together had been a rather rough ride, but they had made it. He knew that they could make it if the two of them would just stick it out. "What happens when you meet someone?"

"You think I'll meet someone better than you?" Alex asked as Angie looked up at him and saw the concern he held. "Ang, please, you know how I feel."

"I know, but there's always the chance," Angie said as Alex merely nodded. There were chances with everything, but he had calculated the risk and this was what he wanted to do. She had told him that she was all right with it, that was the only reason he had signed the papers.

"If you weren't all right with it, you should have told me," Alex said as Angie just shook her head. She was just having a hard time dealing with all of it right now.

"I don't see you for three months and I kinda realize that I only have a few weeks with you before you leave," Angie said as Alex saw that she was on the verge of tears.

"Come here," Alex said, gently, as Angie stood up from her chair and walked over to him. He then pulled her down into his lap and let her cry on his shoulder. "It's going to be all right, just trust me."

"I do, I just don't trust other girls," Angie said as Alex smiled and rocked her back and forth. "I don't want to miss you, I've been doing that too much lately."

"It's only six weeks and my tech school is only about a four hour drive from here. I'll be home to see you," Alex said as Angie covered her face and nodded. "I…I love you Angie and I don't think I'll ever love anyone else."

"Alex," Angie said as she looked up at him with a shocked expression on her face. She knew that he cared, but she hadn't expected this from him. "I…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to, you told me that you loved me a long time ago," Alex said as Angie nodded. She remembered confessing that she loved someone, not liked someone when they were talking about their hypothetical relationships a year ago. "I'm going to miss you, but I need to do this, for me."

"I know and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to stop you," Angie said as she heard the door to the porch open and she looked over Alex's shoulder as he craned his neck around to see who was interrupting them.

"Mom and Dad said that if you could untangle yourselves that we'll have some cake," Jase said, with a smirk on his face as Alex looked over at Angie. He didn't really want the cake; he wanted to make sure that she was fine.

"We'll be in, in a little bit Jase," Angie said as Jase merely nodded and then walked back inside.

"We don't have to go, Ang," Alex said as Angie scooted over to where she could stand up. "Are you okay?"

"I think reality just hit me a little bit too hard, Alex. I knew what you had decided, but it didn't hit me until now," Angie said as Alex wrapped her up in a strong hug and she fought to keep the tears inside.

"I know this probably isn't the best time, but some of my friends are having a party after graduation, I want to spend the night with you, so if you don't want to go, we don't have to," Alex said as Angie gave him a gentle kiss and he couldn't help the dazed look that came onto his face.

"We'll go," Angie said as Alex smiled over at her as she picked up their plates.

"You two are a lot like your parents Angie," Jason said as Angie's face turned red and Alex just shook his head.

"We're not like the two of you?" Alex asked as Jason and Trini both shook their heads no. "Why not?"

"We spent most of our high school years denying that we were anything more than friends," Trini said as Kim and Tommy both laughed. "It's not that funny."

"Not that funny my ass," Tommy said as Charlie gave Tommy a critical look, they're parents didn't cuss for the most part. "It took a fear on that planet to even make you say anything."

"Why does this always come up?" Jason asked as Angie smiled over at him and he just shook his head. She knew that that story had kept Alex from dealing with the same fate.

"Because we were extremely stupid," Trini said as Jason just shrugged his shoulders as he began passing out pieces of cake. He knew much better than to dwell on all of this crap for a very long time. "But the two of you weren't that stupid."

"No we just broke each other's heart a couple of times," Kim said as Alex just shook his head as he took a piece of cake and looked down at Angie. She honestly seemed worried and he couldn't blame her. It had taken a lot out of the both of them, but she supported him, no matter what. He knew it would be worth it once it was over, but they just had to get through the next couple of years.

"Come on, Ang," Alex whispered as he nodded towards her room and she merely nodded.

"Leave the door open!" Tommy yelled out after them as Alex nodded his head that he would as the two of them walked up the stairs.

"I can't believe you trust them that much," Jase said as Tommy's eyes narrowed. He knew that Angie would have been on cloud nine if they had ever had sex. He had not seen that from her yet and when he saw it, he would gladly tell them just to be quiet. He knew that Alex already planned on asking her to marry him, it was just a matter of time. "You don't trust me."

"That's because you have no common sense," Charlie said, playfully, as Jase threw a pillow at her and she managed to duck, but it hit Mitchell.

"Sorry, Mitch," Jase said as he just shook his head and went back to his cake.

-----------

"Ang," Alex said as she sat down on her bed and just placed her hands over her face. "Please look at me."

"I'm gonna miss you, Alex," Angie said as she looked him in the eyes as he kneeled down in front of her.

"It'll be fine," Alex said as he kissed her gently as felt the hot tears as they rolled down her cheeks. "Don't cry because of me, Ang, please don't do that."

"How can I not? I love you, Alex," Angie said as he looked into her eyes and saw that she meant it. "Promise me…"

"I promise, only you," Alex said as he found himself hugging her to him with his body situated between her legs as she sobbed on his shoulder. He had known that loving Angie was going to be hard. He had known that his decision would push her to the brink in so many ways, but he loved her and she loved him. They would make it through all of this if only they could maintain the trust that they had right now. That was all that he needed to know that everything would be all right.


	4. A Visit Home

"Dad," Angie said as she walked into her home and looked around the downstairs. Her father had called her a couple of hours ago and convinced her to come home for the weekend. She was not sure why he would want her to do this, but she was fine with it. She needed the distraction. Alex had left for Germany several months ago and each week without him was harder than the last. He couldn't tell her when he would be home, but the last time she had talked to him, he promised it would be soon.

"Hey, sweetie," Tommy said as he gave her a hug. Jase was already in college and Charlie was going to graduate the next year, while Angie had just graduated college. He hated this empty nest feeling that he was getting as Angie already had an apartment and the other two were going to soon be out of the house. He felt that he had just blinked his eyes and she had grown up. It had all happened far too quickly. "I need some help around the dojo. Sorry to call you like this."

"It's fine, I wasn't going to be doing much of anything this weekend," Angie said as she put down her bag and walked on into the living room. "Are we the only ones here?"

"Yeah, your mom and Charlie went shopping this morning. I don't think that they'll be back for awhile," Tommy said as Angie nodded. When the two of them went shopping, it was an all day affair and she was glad she had missed out on it this time. She couldn't deal with her mom trying to cheer her up right now. She was just too miserable for that.

"Let me go change and then we can get going," Angie said as Tommy merely nodded his head as he watched her scamper up the stairs. If she only knew what he really had in store for her today, she might choose not to change at all.

---------------

"Maria!"Angie practically yelled as she gave her friend a tight hug and the two of them quickly started chattering away about something. It had been a long time since they had seen each other and Angie was happy for a distraction.

"How did you pull this off?" Rocky asked as Tommy gave Rocky a shrug. When Alex had called him and asked him to find a way to get Angie to be in Reefside this weekend, he knew that he would find some way. Alex would not be making this trip on such short notice for just a visit. He must have something bigger in mind.

"I'm just her father and she trusts me," Tommy said with a smile as Rocky nodded. That was certainly the truth about Angie; she had always been a daddy's girl for as long as he could remember.

"I don't know if she'll trust you after this one," Rocky said as Tommy just shrugged his shoulders. If he was right about what was going to happen, Angie honestly would not care that he had tricked her into coming home.

"I had to do this Rocky, I don't think that Alex was going to call anyone else to get this together for him," Tommy said as Angie began sparring with some of the teenagers. Most of them were about Charlie's age and they knew Angie. They knew just how good she had always been, even if she had downplayed her skills to almost everybody.

"He got here literally five minutes before you did," Rocky said as Tommy barely nodded. He had not doubted that would happen. Angie had changed a lot faster than he thought she would after a day at work. He knew that it was because she thought she'd get to bed quickly, but that was not going to be the case today.

"At least he's here," Tommy said as Alex walked out of the dressing room and over to Tommy and Rocky. He could only hope that Angie would keep her back turned from him. "How has it been?"

"Tough," Alex said, simply, as he looked over at Angie and smiled. It was so good just to see her, it had been so long and some of the thoughts that were running through his head, made him glad that Tommy could not read minds. He would be dead if Tommy could. "Tommy, you know why I'm here."

"Yeah I do and she's still my little girl, Alex. Just remember what I told you the first time that the two of you went out," Tommy said as Alex nodded and then let out a shaky breath. He knew that if this went wrong he would never be able to look at Angie again. He needed her far too much to let this fail.

"Thanks," Alex said as he looked over at Jase who smiled at him and merely nodded. He had been in on this just as much as Tommy. "Please don't let her kill me."

"You'll be fine," Rocky said as Alex gave him a skeptical look and then headed towards Angie. "If she doesn't figure out that you planned all of this with her father…"

"Come on, Angie. You're better than this," Jake said as Angie's eyes narrowed and she started pushing at Jake's abilities. He had just made her mad when he had said that.

"Don't tell me that," Angie said as Jake's eyes suddenly widened. He hadn't known that Alex was coming home, no one had, except maybe Angie's parents and his own. What was he doing here? He wasn't supposed to be home for another couple of months and this worried him, just a little bit.

"Ang," Alex said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and she wheeled on him and kneed him in the gut before she realized who he was.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Angie said, as she still did not recognize him, as he was doubled over and silently laughing. He should have known better than to try to get her attention like that. She had always been a little bit jumpy. "Dad…"

"No need to call Tommy over, Ang," Alex said as he straightened up with a smile on his face and Angie's eyes widened considerably. He didn't know whether or not she would faint or if she was just going to stare at him for the next few minutes. "Come on, let's go, just one time."

"How'd you get here?" Angie asked as she began sparring with Alex, her brain too confused to try to figure out if he had an ulterior motive.

"A long plane ride," Alex said as Angie merely shook her head and smiled as he came at her and she easily avoided him. "Who have you been practicing with?"

"My father, it's that obvious?" Angie asked as Alex nodded his head yes as he managed to trip her, but he caught her before she crashed onto the mats. He then sat the both of them down and felt Angie give him a tight hug. "Why are you here?"

"I needed to see you," Alex said, which was as close to the truth as he could get without revealing everything to her in the middle of the dojo.

"And they let you come home for that?" Angie asked as Alex nodded his head that they did indeed let him do that. He had taken a couple of weeks of leave and he planned on spending most of it with her, if she would let him.

"Well, I told them that I needed a couple of weeks to straighten out some stuff," Alex said as Angie practically tackled him to the ground and he couldn't help but laugh. "If I had known I would get this sort of reaction, I would have told you that first."

"Hey, no making out here," Tommy said as Angie looked up at her father and blushed a shade that rivaled her own shirt as she hid her face against Alex's chest. "You know you can stay with us, Alex."

"Thanks Tommy," Alex said as he gently shook Angie to get her to look up at him. "He's really not that mad at you."

"I know but…" Angie began, but she couldn't seem to complete the thought, not even in her mind. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Alex said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and then forced himself to sit up, he didn't need anything else to happen before he got around to his true purpose of being here. "I want to take you somewhere tonight."

"Okay," Angie said as Alex smiled over at her and then stood up and then pulled her up. "Can I just go in what I'm wearing?"

"I wouldn't expect any less out of you," Alex said as he looked down at his own pants and shirt. "But I have to get out of this."

"Okay," Angie said as he gave her a quick kiss and she let out a contented sigh as he walked away.

"I've seen that look before," Rocky said as he walked over to Angie, who gave him a very confused look. "You don't have a clue how much you're like your mother."

"I think I do," Angie said as Rocky just shook his head. It was pretty obvious to him what was going to be happening today, just like it had been when Tommy asked Kim, but Kim hadn't picked up on it either. It seemed that both of them were blissfully ignorant of what was going on with their significant other.

"Sure," Rocky said as Alex walked back out and looked between the two of them.

"Can I take her?" Alex asked as Rocky merely nodded. What else could he do?

"Where are we going, Alex?" Angie asked as he placed his arm around her and they walked out the front door. She could think of any number of places, but none of them seemed right today. There seemed to have to be some reason for Alex to just show up out of the blue in Reefside.

"The first place I ever took you," Alex said as Angie's facial expression showed that she was unsure of where that could be. She honestly didn't remember exactly when they became what they were now.

"Why the first place you ever took me?" Angie asked as Alex just shook his head and motioned for her to get into the car he had rented. "Alex…why?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Alex said as Angie's hand found his and he looked down and smiled. He had missed everything about her since he had left California last year. He knew that some people let the distance get to them, but they hadn't. They had been lucky and they were salvaging everything that they could out of their relationship. They were determined to not let it fall apart, no matter what. They had worked too hard to let that happen now.

"Okay," Angie said, as she did not feel up to arguing with him about anything. She just wanted to enjoy the time that she had with him. "When do you have to go back?"

"Let's not talk about that tonight," Alex said as Angie merely nodded. It always depressed her when she knew that he was going to be leaving in only a couple of days.

"How did you do this?" Angie asked as Alex looked over at her. "It was just a freak thing that my dad called me up here to help."

"I was on my way down and I just thought that I would stop by the dojo and work out. I've missed being beat up by your father," Alex said with a smile as Angie closed her eyes and then curled up in a ball in her seat. "Sleep, Ang. I'll wake you when we get there."

"I'll be fine, Alex," Angie said as her eyes slowly began to close and within minutes she had drifted off to sleep, leaving Alex alone with his own thoughts. He was not sure how to handle that tonight, but he knew that it would all work out in the end.

-------------

"Wake up, Ang," Alex said as he gently shook her shoulder and Angie looked up at him with a sleepy smile. "Did you make the whole drive without a stop?"

"Yeah, but it's only five hours," Angie said as she stretched out and then looked out the window. "We're in the desert? I'm confused, Alex."

"You won't be in a few minutes," Alex said as they got out of the car and Angie automatically began rubbing her arms before feeling a set of stronger arms envelope her from behind. "I forget how cold it gets here at night."

"I like this better," Angie said as she knew that she was up for about any excuse to have him wrap her up and hold her. "So, where are we going again?"

"Inside that cave," Alex said as Angie gave him a concerned look as they walked forward. She was not sure what he might possibly have planned for her, but she could only hope it was nothing bad. "I promise it's nothing bad, Ang."

"I trust you," Angie said as Alex's arms released her and he reached back for her hand and then led her into the darkened Command Center. "Why bring me back here?"

"It's where everything began for us," Alex said as Angie merely nodded, but she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around what he might be doing.

"Alex, please tell me what's going on," Angie said as Alex smiled as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket and Angie's eyes suddenly widened. "Alex…"

"You're not even going to let me ask you?" Alex asked with a playful smile as Angie just stared at him. She was unable to form any words right now and she could only hope that didn't offend him. "Angie, you know just how hard this last year has been on me and I can't go through another year like the last one. I need you in my life, I need you there with me when things get rough. I want you more than anyone else in the world, will you marry me?"

"Alex," Angie managed to mutter as she threw her arms around him and let out happy tears as he held her tight. "Of course I will."

"Thank you," Alex whispered in her ear as she looked up at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He hadn't known that he could feel this happy. He had been happy when they had started dating and each time that he heard a message from her on his machine, his heart skipped a beat. He had missed her more than anyone he had in his life. He knew that everything would work out all right and that his life would be all right, even if they had to go through hell to pull this wedding off.


	5. Wedding Jitters

"Tommy, you're going to scare the poor boy to death," Kim said as her husband looked over at her and just shook his head. It was the day before Angie and Alex were to be married and Tommy insisted on talking with Alex. She was sure that he had more than enough on his mind without Tommy interfering, but he would have none of it and insisted that he be allowed to talk to her.

"I just want to talk to him, Kim," Tommy said, simply, as Kim reached over and pulled off his glasses, knowing that his vision would take a few minutes to get back into focus. "Thanks, now I'm going to have to talk to him as a half-blind man."

"I know she's our little girl Tommy, but you were fine with him asking her," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her.

"I just want to talk to him and he said he'd talk to me. Ang will never have to know and you didn't have to come along," Tommy said as Kim just looked over at him. He knew that she had to come, because she wanted to make sure that nothing happened.

"Well, since you are doing this in Jason and Trini's basement, I thought I'd talk to them, while you have your come to Jesus meeting with Alex," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head and snatched his glasses back.

"It's not a come to Jesus meeting, I just need to talk to the boy," Tommy said as Kim looked up at him and then gave him a kiss.

"It's going to be all right Tommy, I know it's tough, but you're going to have to do this one more time with Charlie," Kim said as he just nodded his head. He, however, was sure that Charlie would not be marrying someone that she had known all her life and that they had watched grow up.

"Hey," Alex said as he opened the door and nodded for them to come in. It was dark and Kim was sure that Jason and Trini were upstairs asleep. "Hey, Kim…I only thought that it was going to be…"

"I don't have anything to say to you Alex, I'm going to be up here watching tv and if it becomes necessary for me to intervene, just come get me," Kim said as she smiled at Alex and he nodded as he looked over at Tommy.

"I guess we have something to talk about," Alex said, quietly, as Tommy nodded and then followed him down to the basement.

"How've you been?" Tommy asked, as Alex stuck his hands deep into his pockets as he turned to face Tommy.

"I've been busy. What they have me working on is definitely going to take several years to put together," Alex said as Tommy barely nodded and then sat down on the old, sagging couch and put his head in his hands.

"I don't know where to begin," Tommy said as Alex looked over at him, slightly confused. He was sure that Tommy was going to give him the talk of a lifetime, considering the fact that he had called him at midnight requesting this chat. "You know that she's my baby, Alex."

"I know," Alex said as Tommy looked up at him. He knew that the boy didn't really understand it and he wouldn't until he had a daughter or a son, but that was a couple of years down the road.

"Yeah, but you don't know what it's like to do this. You don't know what it's like to sit here and look at the man that is going to be taking care of her from now on. Alex, I've done that for the past twenty three years and it's hard to just let it go, to trust that you won't hurt her," Tommy said as Alex just looked at him.

"You know I wouldn't hurt her, Tommy," Alex said as Tommy merely nodded his head that he understood. Alex loved his daughter, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but he also knew that there were times when you didn't know what would happen and that was something that they were just going to have to face.

"I know you wouldn't on purpose, but I've done things to Kim over the years that I never imagined myself doing. I pissed her off so bad one day when she was pregnant with Angie, but the thing was, she was angry, she hurt. I could have dealt with anger, but I hated to see the look on her face when she told me to just put up the groceries and leave her alone. I know you'll try your best to never have that happen, but it probably will," Tommy said as Alex just nodded. He didn't really know how to respond to that sort of thing. "I just don't know how to let her go."

"She'll still call and I'm sure that she'll make me take leave and come back here so that she ya'll," Alex said as Tommy looked over at him.

"She's my baby though, Alex. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable knowing that she's not here with me anymore, that she has someone else in her life to make her feel better when she has a bad day. To hold when she's upset and crying, to clean up her cuts and bruises, to have her run to when she's excited, I've been that person for so long, it's going to be hard not to be that person anymore," Tommy said as he just shook his head. "I miss her already and she's not even gone."

"You know I love her," Alex said, softly, as Tommy barely nodded his head that he knew and understood that completely. If he had had any doubt about it, he wouldn't have let the two of them get engaged.

"It still doesn't make it any easier," Tommy said as he wiped his eyes. "Just promise me that you won't stop loving her."

"I think I've loved since before I knew what love was," Alex said as Tommy barely nodded and Alex reached over and gave him a hug. "I'm going to do my best to be there for her, no matter what."

"That makes me feel a little bit better," Tommy said with a forced smile as he tried to straighten out his thoughts. "It's still hard to let her go."

"You still have Charlie," Alex said as Tommy just shook his head.

"She's been dating a guy in her class for the past two years and I'm scared that he's going to ask her to get married after they graduate. I don't know if I can lose them both so quickly," Tommy said as Alex managed to nod. "One day you'll be doing this and you'll understand why I had to."

"Yeah, if we have a girl," Alex said as Tommy just shook his head. He was sure that Alex would have just as much trouble letting his children go as well. "But that's awhile down the road."

"It may not be that long," Tommy said as Alex just looked at Tommy. He did not want to talk about that future sex life that he would be having with his daughter. "Sorry, I know it grosses you out, but I have to be honest. Grandkids will be coming soon and after that…"

"How 'bout we just get to grandkids first and then we'll go from there?" Alex suggested as Tommy managed to nod his head and smile.

"Sorry to keep you up like this, but I had to get it off my chest," Tommy said as Alex just smiled at the older man. He could completely understand why he felt that he had to do this, he was sure that he would feel the same if he had been in his place.

"So it's fine that I'm marrying your daughter tomorrow?" Alex asked with a smile as Tommy nodded his head yes and gave a smile in return.

"Yeah, it's kinda too late to tell her that I don't like you," Tommy said with a laugh as Alex let out a sigh and Tommy looked over at him. "You haven't been able to get to sleep, have you?"

"No, not for the last couple of days, I just keep…" Alex closed himself off as Tommy gave him a knowing look and managed to nod. "I'm glad I have her."

"I'm glad you do too," Tommy said, honestly, as he stood up and then turned to walk back up the stairs. "Try to get some sleep, you're going to need it."

"Ten minutes? We drove all this way for you to talk to him for ten minutes?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and Kim just shook her own. "You know, I think I might need to get someone take a good look inside that head of yours, so that they can figure out what the hell you are thinking."

"Go ahead, I would really appreciate a couple of months away from teaching," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. "Just don't tell Ang, otherwise, I'll be dead before I can walk her down the aisle."

"Glad you thought that through," Kim said as she just shook her head and they jumped into their car and silently pulled out of the driveway.

"Who was that?" Trini asked as she walked up to Alex who was staring out the front window. She had heard someone arrive, but she had been sure that she didn't want to know who it was.

"Tommy," Alex said as Trini nodded. She had known that there was a good chance that he would come by and say something to Alex. They all knew he was having a very hard time letting go.

"Are you okay?" Trini asked as she put her arm around him and he looked down at her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Mom," Alex said as she looked up at him. She could tell that something was eating at Alex, but she was not sure if she was the one that needed to be here for him.

"I know you better than that, Alex," Trini said as he just shook his head. He couldn't talk to his mom about what he was thinking about right now. "Do you want me to wake up your dad?"

"No, I'll be fine Mom, I'm just thinking," Alex said as Trini shook her head and turned back towards the stairs.

"Your dad will be down in a little bit," Trini said as Alex opened his mouth to object, but stopped at the look that his mother gave him. She still knew what was best for him, even when he didn't want to admit it.

"Hey, Dad," Alex said as Jason stumbled down the stairs and rubbed his eyes to try to wake himself up more.

"Why has your mom gotten me out of bed at this hour of the morning?" Jason asked as he looked over at Alex and saw the worry in his eyes. "You're not having second thoughts about this, are you?"

"No, you don't have to worry about that. I love her too much, Dad," Alex said as Jason just looked at him. "How am I going to make her happy?"

"You already do. You can't tell me that you've never noticed how her eyes light up when she sees you and how she hugs you and it just feels right," Jason said as Alex just shook his head.

"That's not what I'm worried about, Dad," Alex said as Jason's mouth formed an 'O' and he started laughing.

"Alex, don't worry, neither of you are experienced," Jason said as Alex just looked at him.

"Dad…I don't want…I don't know…" Alex said as Jason just lowered his head and tried to think of a good way to help his son out.

"It's been awhile, so you got to tell me exactly what you are thinking. You know I'm no good at this time of morning," Jason said as Alex just shook his head. He didn't know how to say this, even to his dad.

"I don't want to hurt her," Alex said as Jason looked over at him and just shook his head. That was inevitable.

"It's going to Alex, more than you'll believe, but she'll be fine and so will you," Jason said as Alex barely managed to nod as Jason put his arm around him. He was glad that he had raised a son that cared this much about a woman. He had seen so many other boys grow up and treat women like a toy, but Alex never had. He had tried dating a few girls in high school, because he knew that he couldn't have Angie. Then it seemed like a light switch went off in his brain and he knew that he couldn't continue to do what he was doing and he was either going to have the one woman he wanted or he'd have none at all.

_Wedding_

"Alex…you all right?" Jase asked looking over at his soon to be brother-in-law and saw that he had covered his face with his hands as he sat in a chair.

"I'm fine, Jase, just ready to marry her," Alex said as Jase sat down next to him and he looked over at him.

"Well, as long as you don't do anything to hurt her, I won't have to kill you," Jase joked as Alex's eyes widened. "Come on, it's all right, Alex. The two of you have been waiting for this day for a year. Why are you suddenly so worried?"

"That's a long story that I'd rather not talk to you about," Alex said as Jase nodded as the minister walked back and nodded that it was time for all of them to come to the alter.

"Daddy…" Angie said as she looked up at Tommy and he saw the hesitance and excitement in her eyes. He had seen what it did to Kim when her father didn't show up in time to walk her down the aisle and he had promised himself that he would not do that if he had a daughter, unless he was in the grave.

"What is it Ang?" Tommy asked looking down at her and she then reached over and gave him a long hug.

"Thank you so much," Angie said as she looked up at him and saw the tears that had not yet fallen, but were dangerously close. "I still love you Daddy."

"I know, Ang," Tommy said as he looked up the aisle and then down at her. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I am," Angie said as they stared walking down the aisle. She could see the anticipation in Alex's eyes and she could feel her father's arm shaking slightly. He was trying to hold himself together and he was having a hard time with it.

"Hey," Alex whispered as Tommy released Angie and Alex took her hand and felt her trembling.

"Hey," Angie managed to whisper as he gently ran his thumb over the back of her palm.

"We are gathered here todayeHeH to celebrate the union of this couple, if there is any one here who sees a reason why this couple should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," the minister said as he looked around the church for a moment and Alex just shook his head. He knew it was customary, but if anyone in this crowd has something to say, then he might just have to kill them. "Do you Alex Scott take this woman Angela Oliver to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish, in good and in bad, until death do you part?"

"I do," Alex said as he stared into her eyes and she managed a very weak smile.

"And you, Angela Oliver, do you take Alex Scott to be your husband? To have and to hold for richer or poorer in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Angie said as she took a glance over at her parents and saw the look in her father's eyes.

"Then, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the minister said as Alex looked down at Angie and gave her a gentle kiss and she held him tight as he released her.

"I love you Alex," Angie whispered as her lips barely brushed his and he smiled down at her.

"I love you too, Ang," Alex said as he slowly released her and looked back at his own parents to see their reaction.

"What are you waiting for Mr. Scott?" the minister asked as he took Angie's hand and pulled her down the aisle and as they left his threw both his arms around her in a tight hug and picked her up and spun her around.

"I can't believe," Alex whispered as he set her back down and he gently kissed her. He had waited for this day for so long and had been afraid of what it might do to the two of them, but he could only feel love from her and it was the only thing that he saw in her eyes. No matter the worries that he felt, he was sure that the woman beside him would be there for him, no matter what. It was all that he could ask of her and all he expected and he loved her more than anything else.


	6. Faults

"Alex…Alex where are you?" Angie asked as she opened the door and looked around their home. They had been married for a few months and she had just settled into her job. It was rough being where they were and not being able to communicate with half the people that she met. She didn't know enough German to be able to speak with them and Alex didn't have the time to teach her, so she settled for what little bit she could do when she was away from her work.

"Hey, Ang," Alex said in a weary voice as she put down her purse and walked over to him.

"Bad day?" Angie asked as Alex barely nodded his head. He hadn't even bothered to take off his uniform yet. He had just come in and felt like wallowing in his own thoughts for the moment. "You want me to fix something?"

"No, I already ordered something," Alex said as Angie unbuttoned his shirt and he stepped away. He didn't need for his thoughts to be clouded by anything, even his wife.

"You okay?" Angie asked as he shook his head no. "I know you can't tell me, but it'll work itself out."

"I don't know how," Alex said as he walked away from her and she just looked down at the ground. She had had some news for him, but she felt that now was not the right time. He was too preoccupied with whatever had happened to him at work today. "Ang, I just need some time."

"I…I'm gonna go take a bath," Angie said as he nodded and just sat down. What he had heard today messed him up. He didn't know how to be with anyone right now. He didn't realize that he had just failed her by not noticing that she was excited when she walked in. He usually picked up on her mood the moment she walked in, but that was not the case tonight. He was buried too far in his own emotions to realize it.

"Ang," Alex said as he walked into their room and saw her curled up on the bed, obviously upset. "What's wrong?"

"I just needed to talk to you," Angie said as Alex sat down next to her and gently ran his fingers through her hair. "It's not really important…"

"I'm sorry baby," Alex said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "What is it?"

"Don't worry about it," Angie said as Alex guided her hands to his belt buckle as she stood up with him. She, however, did not loosen it and only ran her fingers along the edge.

"Obviously it is important to you," Alex said as he looked down at her waiting for her to do what she usually did if he was ever in uniform. "Ang…I didn't mean it."

"You had a bad day, Alex. I understand, it's just hard on me," Angie said as he pulled her into a strong kiss and held her there. He wanted her, he needed her tonight and hopefully she would understand that. "Alex, I can't tonight."

"Why?" Alex practically begged as Angie carefully undid his pants and he let them fall to the floor. "Ang, what's wrong?"

"Let's eat supper," Angie said to divert the situation away from it all.

"That can wait," Alex muttered as he finished undressing and walked into the bathroom and turned on the water for the tub. "You said something about a bath…"

"Alex, really," Angie began as Alex peeled her clothes off her and then placed his arms around her.

"I love you," Alex whispered as he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.

"Um," Angie happily moaned as she settled into the water and Alex got in behind her.

"What are you so worried about?" Alex asked as he could feel the tension leaving her body.

"It's not just going to be us much longer," Angie said as Alex gave her a bewildered look. After a hard day at work, he needed it spelled out. He couldn't guess anything right now. "Alex, I'm pregnant."

"Ang," Alex muttered as he settled his hands on her flat belly, knowing it wouldn't stay that way much longer. "Have you called your parents?"

"No, I wanted you to be the first to know," Angie said as he kissed the nape of her neck and she merely leaned back against him. "Oh, Alex."

"Baby," Alex said as her body rubbed against him and he had to clamp his mouth shut. "I'm trying to be good, Angie."

"I know, I'm just afraid right now," Angie said as Alex nodded and watched as she slid down further in the water.

"I know," Alex said as Angie smiled back at him and gave him a gentle kiss. "I love you."

_Two Months Later_

"Ang…Angie!" Alex yelled as he walked in the door and saw her things lying on the table. She had not been feeling too hot today, but he hoped that it had passed since this morning. It was perfectly normal to have morning sickness during this time of pregnancy and he prayed that that was all that it was. "Hey, sweetie."

"Hey," Angie said as she had wrapped herself up in his bathrobe and the warmest clothes she could find. She felt like she was coming down with the flu.

"You're burning up," Alex said as she shivered as he placed his hand against her cheek. She had gotten the chills a couple of hours ago and was only hoping that they would go away. "You need to take something."

"I'll be fine, Alex," Angie said as his arms wrapped around her and he picked her up and placed her in bed.

"I'm gonna call your mom and see if she knows anything that I can do," Alex said as Angie shivered and he walked down stairs. At the very least he was going to fix her some soup.

"Hello," Kim said as she picked up the phone. It was late in California and she wondered who it might be.

"Mrs. Oliver," Alex said as he began fixing chicken noodle soup.

"Hey sweetie. What's going on? It's kinda late here," Kim said as she stifled a yawn. It was almost midnight and the rest of the household was asleep. They all had to get up and go to the dojo the next day.

"Ang has a fever," Alex said as Kim heard the worry in his voice. It was one thing when she had a fever before, but with the baby it was different.

"Just fix her some soup and wait it out. I'm afraid to tell you to give her some medicine," Kim said as Alex just looked at the bowl in his hands.

"I'm worried about her," Alex said as he began walking up the stairs.

"It's normal to have bad days," Kim said as Alex opened the door to their room and saw Angie was not in bed.

"Thanks, I'll call you back," Alex muttered as he didn't even wait to hear her response. "Ang…"

"Uh," Angie moaned as he stomach reeled and she felt her knees give way, but didn't feel her body hit the floor. "Alex…"

"Come on baby," Alex said as Angie's grip on him tightened.

"We need to go to the hospital," Angie muttered as Alex barely nodded that he understood her. She didn't look so good and this was the closest she had ever been to passing out on him.

"Stay with me, Ang," Alex said as he felt his phone vibrate and his hip and looked down to see that his commander was calling. "Hello…"

"Sgt. Scott," Captain Grossman said as Alex placed Angie in the front seat and walked over to the driver's side.

"Yes sir," Alex said as Angie began shaking next to him.

"Can you come back in? We just got a transmission," Captain Grossman said as Alex watched Angie pass out.

"Sir, I can't. I have to take my wife to the hospital," Alex said as he backed out of the driveway. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his uniform. "If you put it in my mailbox, I'll do it this weekend."

"It's classified, Scott. Just call me to let me know how your wife is. I might be able to open the space up to let you look at it," Captain Grossman said as he hung up and Alex floored it.

-------------

"Why can't I see her?" Alex demanded as the German doctor just shook his head no and walked away. "What the hell are you doing!"

"Sgt. Scott," Captain Grossman said as he walked into the room to see his sergeant prepared to go off on the doctors. "Have you called home?"

"Yes sir, but they won't tell me anything," Alex said as he sat down with a thump and covered his face. "I just want to see her."

"They don't really help Americans in uniform. Let me talk to them," Captain Grossman said as he walked over to the doctor. He had only come because of the message Alex left him. He didn't want for him to be locked up. "They are still conducting some tests and they don't believe in men being around for this sort of thing.

"She's my wife!" Alex roared as Captain Grossman pushed him back down in the chair.

"It'll be fine, Scott," Captain Grossman said as Alex covered his face. He was furious right now. Something was wrong with Angie and he couldn't do a thing about it.

"Mr. Scott," a patient looking doctor said as he walked outside. "Come with me."

"Sir," Alex began as the doctor looked at him with a look that immediately silenced him.

"Your wife is fine, but we weren't able to save the baby," the doctor said as Alex stopped walking along with him. A lot of things had crossed his mind over the last few hours, but this was not one of them.

"Can I see her?" Alex asked, detached from reality as the doctor merely nodded. He knew this had to be killing the young man.

"That's her room," the doctor said as Alex walked up to it and put his hand on the doorknob. What was he supposed to do to make things better? "Hey Ang."

"Shh!" the nurse screeched as Alex glared over at her. "Need sleep."

"Need talk," Alex said as the nurse began cursing him in German. "I understand you."

"No…you Americans," she spit out as she walked out and slammed the door, causing Angie to jump and whimper.

"Hey," Alex whispered as he pulled the chair up next to the bed and sat down. "Lay down, it's all right."

"How can it be all right?" Angie asked as she barely opened her eyes to look over at him.

"It will be Ang," Alex whispered as he watched her doze back off. He then felt his heart breaking and had to force himself to hold in a sob. They had been excited about this and now it wouldn't happen. It killed him to see her like this, to know she felt responsible. He always looked after her and now he couldn't stop this from happening. He couldn't stop her pain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Ang."

-----------

"Tommy, call Alex for me will you?" Kim said as she was fixing breakfast, she had had a bad feeling ever since that call last night.

"I'm sure that they're fine," Tommy said as he punched in the number, knowing Kim wouldn't rest until he confirmed it.

"Hello," Alex mumbled as he slowly forced himself to sit up. He was so sore and upset and he was not even sure that he could talk about this.

"Hey, Alex. Sorry to do this to you, but Kim wanted me to call," Tommy said as Alex rubbed his eyes and looked up at Angie. He had cried himself to sleep several hours ago and Angie was still sleeping.

"Hey, Tommy," Alex said as he forced himself to stand and walked outside the door.

"You okay?" Tommy asked as Alex looked at the floor. Their parents had been just as excited as them.

"I have some bad news," Alex said as Tommy just looked over at Kim. He absolutely hated her sixth sense.

"What is it?" Tommy asked as Alex let out a dry sob on the other end of the phone.

"Ang is fine, but we lost the baby," Alex managed to get out as he heard the phone clatter to the ground. Tommy couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Go be with her," Kim said as Alex hung up the phone without another word.

"I love you," Alex whispered as he kissed her forehead and stroked back her hair. "I wish I could make it better for you, I wish it was me instead."

-----------

"I just want to go to sleep," Angie said as they walked into their home a couple of days later. All she had been doing was sleeping and Alex was going to let her as long as he could. He knew there would come a time when he would need her to be his wife again, but right now he had to let her suffer, in whatever fashion that she needed to.

"You don't want anything to eat?" Alex asked, concerned about her well being. She had barely touched anything that they gave her at the hospital and had only eaten the last meal because the doctor threatened to not let her go home.

"I'm not hungry, Alex," Angie said as he looked at the floor and nodded. She had been distant. She hadn't let him so much as hug her in the last couple of days.

"Okay, I need to go put in my leave, but I'll be up there in a little while," Alex said as he gave her a hug and felt her stiffen in his arms and he cringed. He could not believe that she was separating herself from him.

"Okay," Angie managed as he released her and looked down at her with pain filled eyes. She was afraid to let herself breakdown with him, even though he was her husband. She felt that he was mad at her for losing the baby and she couldn't face having him say that to her.

" I can't do this," Alex muttered as he sat down in front of his computer and rested his face in his hands, as he tried to compose himself. Kim had offered to come out if they needed her, but neither of them felt right asking them to come and help with this. It was something that they were going to have to work through on their own.

"Alex, where's your old sweatpants from basic?" Angie asked as she walked up behind him and he snatched his head up from his prone position.

"I don't know right off hand, but I'll look for them," Alex said as he stood up and walked ahead of her up the stairs.

"Thanks," Angie muttered as he looked back at her and could see in her eyes that she was trying to put up a wall between them. That look in her eyes let him know that he would have to say something, he just didn't want to come across as pushing her to not grieve. He felt it too, but he also knew that he couldn't let her put up a wall that he had fought to have taken down for years.

"Don't push me away, Ang, please don't," Alex said as tears trailed down his cheeks and she looked up at him. He hadn't really cried in front of her about this yet, but she had thought that he was just trying to not show her his emotions. "We're going to need each other to get through this."

"I can't be…you're mad at me…" Angie muttered as he looked down at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. She thought that he was mad at her for losing the baby.

"Ang, there was nothing you could have done," Alex said as she looked down at the floor and the silent tears rolled from her eyes. "Baby, don't blame yourself."

"I'm so sorry…" Angie cried as he pulled her tight and she let out her sobs against his chest as he gently picked her up and carried her into their room. The sobs were wracking her body and his silent tears joined hers. Neither of them had ever pictured this day happening. They had never pictured coming to a point where they felt so helpless and that there was no way that they could help the other, except give them time and hope. Their baby was gone, there was nothing that they could to get the baby back, but they had each other and they had to make this work, somehow, because they couldn't lose each other in this. They meant far too much to each other and they couldn't live without each other. They had had enough time away from each other to know that they were hopeless without the other, but they could only hope that they would be able to get back to each other. It was all that they had left right now.


End file.
